Exodus 33-34

MOSES DESIRES TO FOLLOW GOD AND GOD ALONE (Exodus 33)

Exodus 33:7
Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of meeting…

Moses put his tent far away because the sins of the people had desecrated the camp. This reinforces the idea that there are consequences for sins, that such sins prevent us from being in the full presence of God.

Exodus 33:7
… everyone who sought the LORD went out to the tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp.

This shows that God discriminates between those who sin against Him and those who earnestly seek him. God will not condemn the whole group of people for the acts of a few.

To be a "friend" of God

Exodus 33:11
The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.

James 2:23
And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "A braham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend.

John 15:15
I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

God shares His plans only with those who are in a relationship with Him.

Exodus 33:13
Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.

God told Moses that He would send an angel to guide Moses and his people to the promised land. However, here, Moses is basically saying, “I know you, God, but I don't know this angel. Therefore, please let it be You who leads us into the promised land.”

Moses' plea with God shows the tremendous amount of love he had for the Lord. He is basically saying, “I don't care about Canaan or milk and honey. I care about my relationship with you, God. That's what I signed up for, because you will be there with me. If you take that away, then I will not move an inch without you.”

And in response to Moses’ plea, God reassured Moses that He will lead the people into the promised land, as Moses as pleaded.

Exodus 33:20
But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.”

To see God in our fallen bodies would result in death.


GOD RENEWS HIS COVENANT WITH HIS PEOPLE (Exodus 34)

Despite the graveness of the sins they had committed, God still reached out and forgave the Israelites

Exodus 33:6-7
The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.

Upon hearing from the Lord, Moses immediately worshipped the Lord and prayed once again for grace and mercy for his people. God promised that He would make a covenant with His people, performing marvels that had not been done in all the earth, or in any nation. God repeated the laws in detail to remind them of the covenant they had previously formed, to remind them that God’s standards had never changed, that He is never-changing, to remind them of the faithfulness they need to maintain.

Knowing that they have been forgiven, the Israelites could move forward knowing their broken relationship between them and God was restored.

Our God is a jealous God (Exodus 34:14; 2 Chronicles 16:9; Isaiah 30:1-2; Joel 2:18) 
As humans, we are vehemently against infidelity. We cannot stand it when our spouse or significant other commits adultery and romantically loves another. Why then do we have difficulties understanding God’s jealousy? God is the one and ONLY true God. He does not want us to divide our love among false gods. His jealousy is not the simple jealousy we feel when we sense our love is shared; His jealousy is that of a great father’s, who protects our love from false worship. He wants to make sure that our love is spent toward only what is real, only what is authentic, and not be divided among false idols who are nothing but a figment of imagination.

Let God’s glory be reflected in our walk
Having met with God, Moses’ face remained radiant, because God’s glory was reflected upon his face (Cf. Exodus 34:33-35; 2 Corinthians 3:7-18).

Similarly, our walk should reflect the glory of God. Let us shine with Christ’s light as we walk in this world!